Survive an Impending Audit

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Impending audits intimidate CIOs and business executives – and for good reason.
A failed audit can result in punitive fines and injunctions that disrupt continuing operations until violations are resolved.
These highly visible failures are best prevented through auditor-enterprise collaboration and pragmatic audit management.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Shift the audit paradigm: auditors need to be enabled, not resisted.
Auditors provide a value-added service that you are paying for. Establishing an effective relationship and enabling the audit team can ensure you get value from the engagement. However, you must also be vigilant in mitigating the risk of damaging findings.

Impact and Result

Effective audit management means acting with kindness to establish an effective relationship and taking vigilant, calculated steps to reduce the risk of adverse findings.
- Clarify the audit scope and prepare documentation in advance.
- Start off on a positive note and enable the auditor.
- Manage audit logistics to minimize business disruption.
- Dispute unwarranted findings.
- Continuously improve your auditability.

Survive an Impending Audit Research & Tools

1. Prepare staff and management

Plan for a productive audit that will benefit the organization.

2. Conduct the audit

Ensure business continuity and mitigate the risk of damaging findings.

3. Manage post-audit activities

Improve the organization's ability to handle future audits.

Workshop: Survive an Impending Audit

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Audit Scoping

The Purpose

Determine audit team.
Identify audit scoping plan.

Key Benefits Achieved

Clear definitions of team member roles and responsibilities.
Proper audit scoping.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Define audit roles and responsibilities

Defined roles and responsibilities

1.2

Develop audit scoping email

Completed audit scoping email

Module 2: Audit Preparation

The Purpose

Gather required documentation.
Prepare facilities and staff.

Key Benefits Achieved

Prepared documentation.
Prepared facilities and staff.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Documentation gathering

List of required documentation

2.2

Facilities walkthrough and review

List of facilities requirements

2.3

Staff prep tactics

List of tactics for dealing with the auditor

Module 3: Post Audit

The Purpose

Clarify and remit findings

Key Benefits Achieved

Downgraded findings
Clarified recommendations

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Review auditor report

3.2

Draft follow-up email

Follow-up email to auditors

Survive an Impending Audit visualization

Razor thin margin for error, high stakes.

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.